After their adoptive mother is gunned down during a grocery store holdup, the estranged brothers reunite to seek revenge and take matters into their own hands. Defying police orders, the four begin turning their old Detroit neighborhood upside down searching for the mastermind behind the brutal killing. Along the way, they discover they are bound by ties thicker than blood in this emotionally powerful, action-packed drama.

I had expected only to like this movie. I had seen the trailer and commercials and from them the movie looked decent. I had not expected to run out and buy a copy after seeing it so I could watch it time and time again; I did not expect to love it, only to be entertained. And I was entertained, at parts...but only a few of them.

The self-help street justice that the brothers turn to in their effort to avenge their adopted mother's killer was over-the-top unbelievable. The "saintly" woman who took these lost-cause boys into her home apparently did not do nearly as good of a job raising them as everyone gave her credit for. She took these boys when no one else wanted them. She gave them a home when no one else would. In her and each other, they had family. But then they grew up, went their separate ways and never got off the streets. Only one of the four appears to have his head on straight.

Marky Mark was good in his role, but the role just wasn't impressive. None of the roles were. The writing and the action were hijacked out of some 80s movie that is only aired on the basic channels Saturday afternoons when the networks have nothing else to show. I would have thought the film industry had evolved beyond movies like this.

I am usually a supporter of violence in movies. In most action movies it can paint a picture. In Four Brothers it was senseless and unnecessary as it just leads you back to the idea that what the brothers got away with was completely ridiculous.

The ending. Oh my, the ending. "There is a plot twist coming, I can feel it... Wait, was that it? Was that the big finish? Huh. I guess it was." I just narrated your thought process as you watch the end of Four Brothers.

I think the plot was too big for the movie and there was no way the makers could have achieved what they wanted. I cannot imagine a scenario when this would be a movie worth watching. Feel free to pass on Four Brothers.

9 comments

I watched the movie last Christmas with my Uncles, so maybe it was the setting. I am not sure on what grounds, I just liked it. But I do not look for cinematic analysis when I determine my opinion of a movie. I usually base it on how I felt after watching it. Call me touchy feely, but I liked the brother/family theme, despite how unrealistic it was. It’s Hollywood, and for Hollywood, it could have been worse.

P.S. I think you should do a list of the best non-violent action movies.

I guess that’s a pretty easy question for me to answer. I expected to see a movie that was more about a fiercely strong family bond that was created under adverse conditions that these four men carry with them always. Instead the movie was about four brothers who allegedly have such a bond…and kill people without remorse.

Maybe it would be more fair, now that I think about it, to use “hoped” rather than “expected.”

That is probably the first time John Singleton and Little Women have both been referenced in the same conversation. I’m sure he would be very proud to be in as good of company as Ms. Alcott. You know, I think they have many of the same influences…